Horizontal piston



L t. e e h s s LIU e e h S 2 N.. 0 T S 'I .EP EM HO Z I R O H U e d 0 Mo m Patented Mar. 4, 1890.

1N VENTOR WA'ITNESSES v @V2M/ ...f-Twig (No Model.) m '2 sheets-sheet'2.

' E. SEE.

' HORIZONTAL PISTON.

No. 42z,454. Patented Mar. 4, 189.0.

N. PETERS. hcmrllllmgrlphur Wishingon D C UNITED STATES PATENT OEEIcE.

HORACE SEE, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA.

HORIZONTAL PISTON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 422,454, dated March 4,1890.

Application filed August 5, 1889. Serial No. 319.819. (No model.)

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, HORACE SEE, a citizen of the United States, residingin the city and county of Philadelphia, and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Horizontal Pistons, ofwhich the following is a specification.

It is well understood that the piston of a cylinder which is disposed inahorizontal position wears more quickly upon its under portion, or thatarc of its circumference which in the mounting of the piston lies belowits horizontal diameter, than upon its upper portion,-the Weight of thepiston as an entirety coming upon its lower semi-circumference, and infact. coming only upon an arc of the same but little in excess of fortyfive toA sixty degrees upon each side of its vertical diameter.

My invention relates especially to, and is an improvement upon, ahorizontal piston invented by me and constituting the subject matter ofUnited States Letters Patent No. 365,102, dated' June 21st, 1887, towhich reference is to be made for a better understanding ofthe featuresof improvement; but it relates in general and is applicable to all pis-.tons and kindred disks which play horizontally, or in a plane slightlyinclined from the horizontal, within a cylinder; and its object is theprovision of means for increasing the durability and augmenting thewearing qualities of the under or wearing surface of the piston,withoutV to any material extent increasing the weight, and also theprovision of means for facilitating adjustment to wear V and foraccurately packing the piston.

In my former invention above referred to, a principal feature is theapplication to a piston provided with a circumferential follower, of ashoe adapted to the under circumferential portion of both piston andfollower and removable therefrom in the direction of the length of thecylinder; a further improvement being the provision, in connection withthe shoev and follower, of a circumferential spring-controlled packingof a special construction.4

My present invention relates particularly to the shoe, and to the modeofapplying it to the follower, in orderto render possible its veryaccurate adjustment to compensate for wear, and to insure the effectualinterception of the passage of the steam or other iiuid past the pistonin any position of its adjustment.

The foregoing objects I attain by devices represented in theaccompanying drawings and described in this specification the particularsubject matter claimed as novel being hereinafter definitely specified.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a central, vertical, side, sectional,elevation through a piston embodying my improvements, section beingsupposed in the plane of the dotted line :n upon Fig. 2, and sight beingtaken in the direction of the arrows upon said line. Fig. 2 is a rearelevational view of a piston embodying my improvements. Fig. 3 is asimilar view of the lower portion of the piston, exhibiting the followerin place but the shoe removed. Fig. ll is a rear elevational View of theshoe removed from the follower. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary right-hand edgeele vational view of that portion of the periphery of the piston shownin Fig. 3, which is, on the sheet, abreast the parts represented in Fig.5. Fig. 6 is a top plan view of the right hand upper portion of the shoeof Fig. 4. Fig. 7 is a right hand end elevational view of the shoe asshown in Fig. 4. f

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts.

In order the better to understand lmy present improvements it isnecessary to describe the general construction of the patented pistonreferred to, to which they are applied, and which is of the followingconstruction A is the piston proper, represented as of conical form andconveniently provided with. a hub AX. The rear face of the piston isturned off or otherwise conformed to present three circumferentialrearwardly-facing surfaces which are respectively herein termed theouter shoulder c, the middle shoulder a', and the inner shoulder a2. Theplanes or faces of these shoulders are preferably parallel.

B is what I term a follower; it being an angular ring of metal,conveniently made of the form represented in the drawings, that is sosay, having a horizontal member h and avertical member lJX,-and beingadapted for application against the inner and middle shoulders of thepistou. This follower is IOO conveniently secured to the piston byfollower bolts BX which pass through bolt seats b2 in it the saidfollower, and thread into the piston as shown. An arc of t-he underportion of the periphery of the follower, being an are of that portionof its circumference which is comprised below its horizontal diameter,is provided with a recess h3, Fig. 3, to receive an arc-shaped slice C,which latter is a riglit-angularly flanged metal plate composed of anunder member, which is the wearing surface c, and of a lateral member,right angular to said under member, which is the back flange cx, throughlthe medium of which flange the slice as an entirety is, by shoe boltsC", which pass through bolt seats c2 and thread into the follower,secui'ed to said'follower. The horizontal wearing surface c of the shoepreferably extends at least as far forward as the horizontal member l)of the follower, so that said follower is as to its entire recessedportion b3 sliod by the shoe, which latter is of circumferentiallengthequal to the length of the shoe recess in the follower, and preferablyof a breadth in excess of the average breadth of the piston andfollower, in order to afford a very broad bearing surface for thepiston.

It will be apparent from a consideration of the foregoing constructionthat the shoe can be both removed and applied without unshipping thepiston from its cylinder. This capability for application and removalwith out uiiseating the piston constitutes one of t-he materialadvantages of my forinei' invention. In the fact that it employs all ofthe foregoing elements of my former invention, my present invention isidentical therewith. In order however to provide for the very accuratedownward radial projection or settingout of the shoe, to compensate forwear and for the centering of the piston when the adjustment has beeneifected,-I form both inner extremities of the shoe recess b3 withstraight faces, which I term recess faces b4, Fig. 3, each of which isparallel to a' plane embracing the vertical diameter and thelongitudinal axis of the piston, and each of which is preferably aflat-faced steel bearing plate and forni the inwardly-facing innereXtremital portions of the shoe, with corresponding parallel straightfaces, which I teiin the shoe faces c4, which, as shown in Fig. 6, are,preferably, plates of steel applied to said niider member of said shoe,and which respectively bear fiat against and make tight and accuratecontact with the respective recess faces b4.

From a consideration of the foregoing constriiction,it will be apparentthat a considerable radial in or out movement of the shoe can be madewithout disjunction of the contact between the respective recess andshoe faces. Of course, in order to permit of the foregoing outwardmovement of the shoe, the seats c for the shoe-bolts CX are elongatediii directions parallel with the vertical diam eter of the piston.

In order to elfectually intercept the passage of steam when the shoe hasbeen set out, I apply and secure to the follower what I terminterceptiiig plates lf, Figs. 3 and 5, which respectively occupy planesright angular to the axis of the piston or parallel with its frontfaces, and which, by overlapping the radial gaps lefts between the endsof the recess and the inner ends of the shoe when the shoe is .set ont,effcctually intercept the passage of fluid.

In order to provide for a renewal of the wearing surface of the slice, Ifind it convenient to cast or form its peripheral face with a series ofraised webs c5, the surfaces of all of which coincide with andpractically form planes of the acting peripheral face of the shoe,between which webs are cast wearing surfaces c" of white metal or otherpreferred material.

In connection with the foregoing improve ments, I employ, preferably butnot restrictively, such a packing ring as is sot forth in my formerpatent, and which is of the following construction :-Interposed betweenthe outer shoulder a of the piston and both the front face of thehorizontal member l) of the follower B and the front face of the wearingsurface c of the shoe C-the said two faces together forming a completecircumferential face opposing the aforesaid outer shoulder ofthepiston,-is a packing ring which complete ly eircumseribes the pistonand is composed of a double series of segments D, each of which seriesof segments as to the seginen ts which compose it completelycircumscribes the piston as stated, and the segments composing therespective series of the which said two series are interdisposed so asto break joints, in a manner which will be understood by a reference tothe full and dotted radial lines designating the intersection ofsegments,in Fig. 3. The segmentsof the outer series are convenientlyloosely attached by pins (L to the outer shoulder a of the piston, thesaid shoulder and the said segments being correspondingly bored to letin the pins. The segments of the inner series are similarly looselysecured by pins (ZX tothe segments of the outer series, the said pinsbeing let into holes correspondingly oppositely bored into the opposingfaces of the segments ot' the respective series.

The various packing segments I), eonsid ered together as forming acomposite pack ing ring to the piston, are adapted, as above, to bemaintained laterally between the follower and its shoe and the outershoulder of the piston. They are maintained radially outward against theinner walls of the cyl inder by the interposition within a eircuniferential recess dxf-formed about the piston to the rear of its outeishoulder by the application of said follower and shoe,-of a series IOOIOS

IIO

of elliptic or other springs E, or equivalent spring contrivances, whichact between the base of said recess and the inner sides of saidsegments. The springs are conveniently maintained in propercircumferential disposition, and prevented from dropping down together,by radial pins e, or kindred stops, erected from the base of the springrecess. The function of the packing rings is to maintain the pistonsteam, air, or iiuid tight within the cylinder. It is, of course,preferable that thepacking, as such, should completely encircle or,technically, circumscribe, the piston. It is apparent, however, that tothe extent of the length of the shoe the packing proper may be dispensedwith, and the shoe proper constitute in effect, and subserve thefunctions of, a portion of the packing, and I use the termcircumscribing packing in the claims subject to this obvious limitation.

In order more effectually to provide for the interception of steam orother fluid which might otherwise escape past the joints between thesegments of the packing rings, I provide the corresponding extremitiesof the segments with overlapping tongues cl2, as shown in Figs. 3, and5, so that each segment has at one of itsextremities a tongue whichoverlaps the abutting extremity of the adjoining segment and is adaptedto a recess formed therein.

It is obvious that when the shoe is worn it can be cheaply replaced, andthat it can be readily reshod or packed upon its wearingsurfaces, or beset out by the interposition of a suitable filling piece between thehorizontal member of the follower and its own wearing surface.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:-

1. The combination of a piston, a circumferential follower having a shoerecess provided at its extremities with recess faces, and a segmentalshoe adapted to the recess of the follower and provided at itsextremities with shoe faces conforming to the recess faces,substant-iallyA as and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination of a piston, a circumscribing packing, acircumferential follower having a shoe recess provided at itsextremities with recess faces, and a segmental shoe adapted to therecess of the follower and provided at its extremities with shoe facesconforming to the recess faces, substantially as and for the purposesset forth.

3. The combination of a piston, a circumferential follower having a shoerecess provided at its extremities with recessfaces, a segmental shoeadapted to the recess of the follower and provided at its extremitieswith shoe faces conforming to the recess faces, and intercepting platesat the extremities of the shoe and its recess, substantially as and forthe purposes set forth.

et. The combination of a piston, a circumscribing packing, acircumferential follower having a shoe recess provided at itsextremities with recess faces, a segmental shoe adapted to the recess ofthe follower and provided at its extremities with shoe faces conformingto the recess faces, and intercepting plates at'the extremities of theshoe and its recess, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the'foregoin g as my invention I have hereuntosigned my name this 18th day of July, A. D. 1889.

HORACE SEE. In presence of- J. BoNsALL TAYLOR, WM. C. STRAWBRIDGE.

